After the Argentineans’ poor start to the tournament, their minds are divided: Was Messi bad or was he badly involved? We analyze in detail which game-environment Messi needs to achieve his maximum effect.

Croatia surprised the world when they were able to defeat Lionel Messi’s Argentina 3:0 in the group stage. The clear strategy of Dalic and his men was to use the height and strength of their players to dominate the game in aerial duels. The possession game was very direct and short-lived while the game revolved mostly around Croatia’s midfield pressing block and Argentina’s positional play in possession. If Dalic’s men could win the direct ball they would attack, otherwise, they focused on creating counter-attack opportunities through their pressing and winning high balls from the Argentinean build-up play.

We take a more in-depth look at the national football team of Croatia, a country with a long history of producing highly technical players which help them to make runs in major tournaments and threaten the favorites consistently. What is Zlatko Dalic’s strategy in the 2018 World Cup?

Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund meet in the group stages yet again in what has turned out to be one of the more common and exciting pairings within the last 5 seasons. Los Blancos continue to dominate in Europe with a diamond made up of Isco, Modric, Kroos, and Casemiro. Dortmund sought to bring their high pressing 4-3-3 and counterpressing to the game, but ultimately it wasn’t enough.

Paul Pogba is a name many people in football are familiar with. Manchester United fans are likely still having nightmares over the fact that he left them to join Juventus just a few seasons ago. One of Pogba’s most famous quotes is one in which he explains why he left the Red Devils: “I said to Ferguson: ‘Play me, and I will show you if I’m ready or not,’ Then against Blackburn on December 31, 2011, I was on the bench. Ferguson put Rafael in midfield with Ji Sung Park. Then I gave up.”

Pressing, counterpressing, and counterattacking are three very popular concepts that are associated with the most exciting and dominant teams in modern football. Pressing and counterattacking are perhaps the more “classic” ideas in football tactics, while counterpressing is a buzzword which has become quite popular over the last five to six years – despite having existed for decades. But what do these terms really mean and why are they so important to modern football?

In the beginning of Tuchel’s tenure as head coach in Dortmund a special product developed on the field due to the interaction of the style of play from the previous coach and his own. The team was in a transition phase where they were moving from Jurgen Klopp who was known for his intense, compact, and dynamic style of play both in and out of possession, to former Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel.

Zidane’s first game as a head coach. Throughout the game traces of the strategy used under Carlo Ancelotti (while Zidane was the assistant) were visible while some problems which existed under Benitez still weren’t done away with. Ultimately, it looked as Real Madrid took a step in the right direction and it will be exciting to see how good they can become with more time under their new head galactico.

A crazy, crazy game. Just as it looked like Ronaldo had earned a penalty, Valencia launch a counterattack which results in a Kovacic red card and Real Madrid playing with ten men. Then Madrid take the lead off of a set piece – but Valencia immediately equalizes afterwards. The key to this match up was the defensive set-up from both teams.

A game which was ultimately decided by a scrappy goal from a set piece. There were plenty of chances for both teams throughout the game as neither of them could stop the other’s offensive strategy. Newcastle’s man-marking in defense and Arsenal’s lack of pressure on the ball made this and open game.